Conventional steering column assemblies typically include a damper disposed within a steering wheel of the steering column assembly. The damper is positioned within the steering wheel to absorb vibration experienced by the steering column when a vehicle in which the steering column assembly and steering wheel are installed is operating in an idle or low-speed condition. Under such conditions, the steering wheel vibrates substantially within a frequency of thirty to forty hertz and vibrates in a direction generally normal to a floor of the vehicle (i.e., in an up/down direction). Because the steering column assembly and steering wheel vibrate within a thirty to forty hertz band during idle and/or low-speed driving conditions, the damper installed within the steering wheel is designed to offset vibrational forces exerted on the steering wheel within a thirty to forty hertz band to prevent tactile vibration.
While conventional dampers disposed within a steering wheel adequately absorb up/down vibration of a steering wheel during idle and low-speed driving conditions when a vibration applied to the steering wheel is substantially within a thirty to forty hertz band, such conventional dampers fail to adequately absorb vibrational forces exerted on the steering column and steering wheel when the vehicle is driven at high speeds, as vibrational forces exerted on the steering wheel during high-speed driving conditions are typically exerted along a longitudinal axis of the steering column and are within a seventy to ninety hertz band.